John Lewis Starling, born March 26, 1940, was an American bluegrass musician, composer, and physician. Born in Durham, North Carolina, and raised in Lexington, Virginia, he co-founded the influential bluegrass group The Seldom Scene with Ben Eldridge, Mike Auldridge, John Duffey, and Tom Gray. Starling left the group in 1977 to focus on his medical career as an otolaryngologist. He later released the solo album Long Time Gone (1980) and collaborated with Carl Jackson, winning a 1992 Grammy Award for Spring Training. After retiring from medicine in 2006, he reunited with former colleagues as John Starling and Carolina Star, releasing Slidin' Home (2007). In 2014, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of The Original Seldom Scene. Starling passed away on May 2, 2019.
